edESTESdesign

Feeling the Breeze: Comparing Coverage Options for Outdoor Environments

The primary function of architecture, and possibly the most important and basic, is to protect against the weather. Whereas our ancestors would stack tree trunks and animal skins to create rudimentary shelters against the sun and rain, the emergence of architecture took on impressive proportions, creating temples and captivating spaces that fulfill many other functions. The purpose of sheltering people from the outdoors, however, remains an important one and can turn an outdoor area into a functional and engaging space. With all the innovations that currently exist, there are also numerous improvements emerging for their mechanisms and functions.

Gensler Unveils Massive Redevelopment Scheme of Cleveland’s Historic Avon Lake Power Plant

Gensler, in partnership with Avon Lake Environmental Redevelopment Group (ALERG), the City of Avon Lake, and Avison Young, has presented initial redevelopment plans for the environmental remediation and sustainable redevelopment of the historic Avon Lake Generating Station in Avon Lake, Ohio. The redevelopment scheme will serve as an opportunity to reframe the former coal-fired powerplant site into a regional attraction while restoring the lakefront ecosystem.

The master plan covers 40 acres of real estate along the shores of Lake Erie, consisting of the coal-fired generating station, submerged lands lease, substation/switch gear and transformers, administrative offices and structures, coal rail, and storage yard parcels south of Lake Road. The entire team has been planning for the future of the site, ensuring that the property will benefit all members of the community, drive economic impact, and create new job opportunities, all while sustainably redeveloping the site for the betterment of the environment.

NOMA’s professional development program for architecture students at HBCUs is propelling the field forward

By Caitlin Dashiell of Architect’s Newspaper

Intentionality. Persistence. Commitment. These are key actions that come to mind if you ask how architects create institutional change and real diversity within their companies, according to Melvalean McLemore, Anzilla Gilmore, and Zhetique Gunn, the three co-founders of a new professional development program (PDP) for architecture students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The trio are Texas architects and designers who recognized the need for equity in architecture through reframing how designers from HBCUs are viewed by the architecture profession. These women are currently building an accessible network supported by the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) to match AEC firms with diverse architecture students.

12 Black Architects Making History Today

From established award-winners to up-and-coming talents, these architects are both innovative designers and powerful advocates for a more equitable AEC industry.

Black History Month is a time to reflect upon the past and reckon with the long history of racism and inequality that has disenfranchised Black Americans to this day. It is also a time to acknowledge the contributions and celebrate the achievements of generations of Black communities across all areas of society. A history that should not be limited to a single month, we recognize the urgency of listening to and amplifying Black voices all year round.

The under-representation of Black architects and designers continues to mar the architectural profession. Today, Black people make up 14% of the United States’ population; yet, less than 2% of the approximately 113,000 architects licensed in our country are Black. In addition to increasing diversity within the profession, the industry must confront the need to design more equitable spaces and cities and incorporate communities of color into these design processes. As Kweku Addo-Atuah beautifully states, “It takes the collective populace to imagine and shape the built environment, and for it to be truly reflective and responsive to society, inclusiveness must be at the forefront of collaboration.”

Cantilever House // uc21 architects

The Project is located in Mosha, Damavand, 60 Km from Tehran at 2400 meters altitude and we have very strong winter.
The land area is about 600 m2 with dimensions of 30 x 20 meters and a slope of 20%. According to the following expression we confronted with such a difficult circumstance and trying to do our best to get the advantage of available spaces and land in order to meet the client demands.

This Home’s Kitchen Has the Ultimate Trick for Creating Indoor-Outdoor Flow

Sometimes a design opportunity rises from the ashes. And that was quite literally the case for interior designers Austin Carrier and Alex Mutter-Rottmayer of über-cool Sonoma, California–based firm Hommeboys when they visited the site of their latest real-estate endeavor: a 16-acre property that fell victim to the 2017 Wine Country fires. Together with Mutter-Rottmayer’s father, James Rottmayer of Rottmayer Design + Build, the team toured the damaged lot and saw nothing but potential. “When we visited the property for the first time, the views blew us away and we fell in love,” says Mutter-Rottmayer.

The NFL always wins

America is obsessed with football — a love affair that has allowed the NFL to tighten its already-firm grip on our culture despite mounting scandals.

The big picture: From brain injuries to toxic workplaces to racism allegations, the NFL is no stranger to outrage. Then Sunday arrives, and all is seemingly forgiven.

That will be the case once again this week, as the same networks currently reporting on the Brian Flores lawsuit and Commanders harassment allegations will begin promoting the Super Bowl.NFL fans, much like those networks, have shown a willingness to separate the product from the business, which has made the league impervious to gaffes that would doom most organizations.

State of play: The NFL has arguably never been more entertaining than it was this season, delivering unrivaled parity, a record number of close games and thrilling playoff drama.

The league accounted for 41 of the 50 most-watched U.S. broadcasts in 2021, which explains why its media partners are willing to pay more than $100 billion over the next decade-plus to broadcast games.The Broncos’ sale price could exceed $4 billion, which would smash the record for richest sports team sale. Sunday’s Super Bowl will be played in the most expensive sports venue ever built (~$5.5 billion).

The other side: The NFL has reached these heights despite spending the past decade mired in controversy. A few demons that aren’t going away:

Brain injuries: In 2013, the NFL agreed to a $765 million settlement after retired players alleged the league concealed what it knew about concussions. A few years later, a neuropathologist examined the brains of 111 deceased NFL players, and all but one had CTE, a brain disease linked with repeated blows to the head.Racism concerns: Roughly 70% of NFL players are Black, but Mike Tomlin is the only active Black head coach. There’s also the “race norming” practice used in the concussion settlement, Jon Gruden’s emails and the Kaepernick saga and collusion lawsuit.Lack of accountability: The NFL’s investigation into misconduct allegations in Washington hasn’t been transparent, and owner Dan Snyder may have control over whether the results are made public — a reminder that Roger Goodell works for the owners, not with them.

By the numbers: NFL fans may be divided when it comes to issues like kneeling during the national anthem, but in general, most feel the same way about the league: They love it.

51% of Americans are professional football fans, according to a 2021 Axios-Ipsos poll. No other sport cracked 40%.That includes 51% of Democrats, 50% of Republicans and 55% of independents. The NFL is also equally favored by Black and white Americans.

The last word: “The NFL doesn’t care about your concerns, because the NFL doesn’t have to,” as NYT’s Kurt Streeter put it — not as long as viewership, revenue and franchise values continue to outpace every other sports league on Earth.

Source: https://www.axios.com/the-nfl-always-wins-1442adc3-59ca-4b3c-a754-79a4c5a36761.html

This 16-acre Atlanta park was built to flood

In the Vine City neighborhood outside of downtown Atlanta, a few city blocks faced a persistent threat. Filled with the modest homes of the neighborhood’s primarily Black community, this area was the low point in a 150-acre drainage shed. During storms, when water from the entire neighborhood rushed down into the combined sewer and stormwater system, the area would regularly flood. It got so bad that by the early 2000s, the city decided to buy up the most vulnerable 60 homes and tear them down.

With an average annual rainfall of about 50 inches, the problem was not necessarily solved. So the city of Atlanta and the Trust for Public Land teamed up to find a new use for the space. They hired global design, planning, and landscape architecture firm HDR to design a park for the land—the kind of open space that wouldn’t upend people’s lives if it got a little too wet.

Prince George’s County Redistricting Map Thrown Out

A Prince George’s judge on Monday ordered the county council to throw out the widely criticized redistricting map it approved this fall and instead implement one proposed by a nonpartisan committee — a decision the council said it would appeal “immediately.”

Circuit court judge William Snoddy declared the map, which drew three liberal politicians out of the districts in which they were running or considering running, invalid because of a procedural error made by the council. More than 150 residents had testified against the map in November, with many calling it an obvious example of political gerrymandering, before it was approved by a council majority as part of the decennial redistricting process.

A group of residents last week filed a lawsuit in which their lawyer argued that the map was improperly passed via a resolution, which does not require a signature from the county executive, rather than a bill, which does.

DC’s Biggest Disaster Struck 100 Years Ago At The Knickerbocker Theater

More than two feet of snow had fallen on the District of Columbia, as movie-goers settled into their seats in the warmth of the Knickerbocker Theater on January 28, 1922. The theatre in Adams Morgan was the largest in the city, with seating for more than 1,500, but on this cold, snowy night, just 300 perople showed up — mostly those who lived within walking distance and could trudge through the snow to the grand movie palace at the corner of 18th St. and Columbia Rd. NW.

“This was the titanic of theaters,” says Kevin Ambrose, who has written two books about the Knickerbocker, and writes about weather as a freelancer for the Washington Post.